| |
A month later Edward was recovering well at the safe house and the plaza was almost back to normal, barring some paving slabs that were having to be replaced due to the staining.
The world press was oddly silent on the matter, despite social media being full of videos of the fighting and deaths. It had been reported as a martial display gone wrong, a tragedy that would be fully compensated and learned from by the city.
Te Ling held a day of mourning, draping the statues and buildings with white fabric. Every business was closed, and a monument was erected in the centre of the park, with the Triang Council appearing in full ceremonial robes and masks to dedicate it to the people who had lost their lives in the event. The whole city attended,
At the council meeting after the dedication ceremony, a Fae Herald presented the Golden Phoenix’s apologies for not attending.
“I’m not surprised to be honest,” Zhao said after the Herald left, “She has a lot on her plate I should imagine.”
The herald had also presented a letter from the Fae Queen to Kai. She opened it and scanned the contents.
“Are you going to read it aloud?” Amira asked, sipping from her water glass.
Kai shrugged, “It doesn’t say much, just reiterates her request that Phoenix become the Head of the Council.”
“What about the declaration of war?” Wolf asked.
“They requested an Armistice.” Kai said after scanning through the letter again.
“That suggests a peace might be possible.” Amira bit her lip thoughtfully, “Maybe the Temples can facilitate a meeting for that.”
“Ao Qin was fairly scathing about the temples standing back from defence of the treaty.” Kai said, remembering their conversation after the event, “He said he would visit Hachin to have a discussion with the Elders.”
Amira laughed, “Oh he did. He’s still there, arguing with them.”
“What are we going to do about the position of Head of the Triang Council though?” Wood Horse said, “You’re currently only invested with the emergency powers; traditionally the Jade Cat stands apart from the council.”
“We can’t let the Fae Queen have her way though, Horse.” Wolf glared at him, “That would be just rewarding her for attacking the city.”
Kai scanned the faces around the table. None of them had been confirmed in their appointments yet because of the chaos in the last few months and until one of them had been, the normal, traditional route couldn’t take place. Maybe it’s time to shake this city up and see what falls out.
“I will remain as Head of the Council until such times as everyone here are officially appointed to their positions. Today we appeared in public for the first time; The Dark Cities Triang is an oligarchy and while the council members are known about, we are feared and possibly hated by the majority our ordinary citizens. That needs to change.”
“Why would you have us change the traditions set out in the Treaty? It’s what has kept peace for over a thousand years and guaranteed the lives of the Humans in the Triang.” Horse sounded worried.
“The council heads are descendants of the original nobility in the region. It’s where our strength comes from.” Zhao pointed out, “The vampire DNA in my veins came from Louisa who was turned by the previous Black Dragon and so forth; how do we change that?”
“That’s just it, it has changed.” Kai said, “The Jade Cat was appointed long after the Treaty was signed, because they recognised that an independent curb on their power was required.”
“The Black Dragon selects their heir and then injects that DNA with a bite – they are not literal descendants.” Wolf pointed out, “It’s the same for the Werewolves; we bite our heirs, even if the chosen heir is already a werewolf.”
“We elect ours,” Amira said, “The Crystal Dragon can be any of the reptilian shifters; we do not discriminate. However, the final say on an heir is given to the Council of Dragons and most times they pick a dragon.”
“The Wood Horse is elected by the Council of Trade, Tourism and Industry, from amongst the companies in the Triang. Anyone is eligible, from the lowliest cleaner upward; it’s part of the benefits package to joining the Triang Union.” Horse shrugged.
“The Fae are the only council member that are still requiring the Phoenix to be a literal descendent.” Kai continued, “And I was approached by the Black Dragon, Crystal Dragon and Wood Horse to take this position on. The only reason it will stay with me for the foreseeable future is that Chamberlain’s Curse made me immortal.”
The rest of the council silenced for a long moment as that information was digested. Eventually Horse spoke; “What are you suggesting, Cat?”
“The City Mayors already have their own council, as do the Emergency Services – we need some way to bring this all together, to make the Triang work together.” Kai sighed, “Edward had to do so much fast talking and promising future favours to get the help that we did have from the ordinary Police Department and Te Ling City Militia, that he almost lost his voice.”
“It’s something that we need to look at, certainly; the Fae Queen is not going to give up on her plans.” Amira nodded.
“Then how about we extend the emergency and keep you as head of the Council until we have actually brought that plan to an end?” Wolf said, “We can form a team from our people to help you, give you a way of co-ordinating defences and so forth.”
“that sounds like a sensible way to work it.” Horse nodded his agreement.
“But none of these bodies are easily accessible to the ordinary human folk and mortal species of the cities and surrounding countryside. Not even the younger members of the underworld can be considered for them; you have to be part of particular families or a certain age.” Kai pointed out, “We’re back to serious inequality in that respect.”
“I don’t understand what you are getting at Jade Cat” wolf murmured unhappily.
“Would you have us stand for election instead? We cannot reveal our identities and it’s impossible to have a proper election without showing who we are and possibly the existence of the underworld.” Amira said.
Kai remained silent.
Zhao stared at her, “You want us to reveal the existence of the Underworld? Wouldn’t that bring complete chaos to the entire world?”
“Ao Qin suggested that it was time. The Overworld has watched us all adapt and change to avoid bringing excess death to the humans as a survival tactic; through the use of technology and science, our people no longer need to feed on humans.” Kai shrugged, “I never thought of myself as part of the underworld, just a Human with strange abilities, but it turns out that my family is a hybrid of abominations; we have fae, dragon, vampire, werewolf and reptilian shifters in every generation. My divination abilities came from the fae blood. My father’s ability to see clearly in the dark, to swim without needing scuba gear that allows him to work as a diver safely, comes from selkie and merfolk blood.”
“So, you want to integrate the midworld and underworld... ambitious.” Amira said.
“And highly controversial. It will take a long time to get all the Dark Councils to agree on anything, not to mention the conservatives.” Zhao shook his head, “It’s impossible. It could mean all out war in certain areas of the world; war between the Midworld and the Underworld.”
Kai sighed, “I know, but I have a long life stretching out in front of me, and I have to have something to do when I pass the responsibility of Jade Cat on.”
“Can we focus on the here and now, please?” Horse snapped, “Our cities need steady leadership, and we need to get the Queen to back down from her war stance.”
“So, lets go ahead with extending the emergency and forming that team. All in favour?” Amira said before Kai could say anything else.
Everyone put a hand up.
Kai forced a sigh back at the ease that it went through. One step at a time. “In that case, I declare this motion carried and the meeting concluded.”
––––––––
LATER...
“What are you going to do now?” Amira asked as they sipped tea in her workshop.
“Take each day as it comes. Get Edward well, do my job. Try and figure out how to stop the Queen of Light from destroying the world.” Kai sighed and put her cup down, “Wish that I’d never taken that job from Zhao and got cursed? Seems to me that Chamberlain knew what he was doing when he activated that part of my bloodline.”
Amira blinked, “What do you mean that part of your bloodline? I thought he cursed you.”
“He did in a way. Ao Qin explained my family genetics to me, it was how I knew where my powers came from and how my dad can dive without breathing.” She stared out the window at the leafless trees and bamboo groves, “My ultimate ancestor is someone from the Overworld. I have no idea which one and I don’t want to find out, but when you said that I was essentially a god, you were right.”
“oh.” Amira topped up Kai’s cup, “Not much I can say to that.”
“I’ll live much longer than any of the rest of you; I can be killed, but like Edward it would take a Dragon King’s fire to destroy my body long enough to let my spirit move on. Otherwise, I can just heal.”
“Even a beheading?” Amira said.
“Yes. Just reattach my head and body and it will heal itself. Might take a while though.” Kai glared at Amira who was looking at Kai with an inquisitive glint in her eye, “Don’t you even dare try it... being cut still hurts you know!”
“I wasn’t... I wouldn’t... uh...” the dragon priestess looked guilty, “Sorry, my curiosity gets away from me sometimes. At least I know I can help you if something like that does happen though.”
Kai grinned and laughed, “I know.”